Lily is a fourth grader!

Lily started fourth grade today. I can't believe she is that old!!! Wow...it seems like not long ago I was dropping her off at her first day of kindergarten. She had a great first day. A couple of her good friends are in her class and her teacher loves peace signs so Lily thinks that is cool. The classroom is decorated in dogs and her teacher refers lovingly to her class as the "dog pound." So Lily gets a kick out of that!

Ivy and I are officially on our own during the day! I look forward to getting into a better routine so that I can get more, or anything, done during the day. My goal for tomorrow is just to take a shower! Oh, and pump more than once...that would be really helpful! So if someone can let Ivy know that she should nap so mom can pump, shower and eat that would be nice. I keep trying to tell her but she doesn't listen to me....it's all about her!

Newest member

I want to introduce you to the newest member of Ivy's NAMMY WAHMY....it's her Nasal Stent! This is permanently attached to her NAM with a wire. It is made from a softer acrylic material than the rest of her NAM so we have to be careful not to damage it. The purpose of it is to help shape the cartilage in her nostril as she grows so that after surgery both of her nostrils will be rounded instead of having a flat nostril on her cleft affected side. She has adjusted very nicely to it. She only seems bothered by it if it slips into her nose a little too far but that is easily fixed with some Fixodent on her NAM.

The orthodontist said that it will be about 7-9 more weeks before her surgery. They are going to be scheduling it soon. I don't really want to think about it but it is coming quick!

Craniofacial Acceptance Month

Did you know that September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month? Well now you do! You can check out this website, http://www.ccakids.com/, to learn more about various craniofacial conditions. Cleft lip and palate are the most common but there are many others. So let's celebrate all the faces out there: big, small, short, tall, clefted and not. Happy Craniofacial Acceptance Month!!!